Conservative state Sen. Rick Jones does not share the view of many in his caucus that film tax credits should be eliminated entirely as soon as possible.

Rick Jones

“I think they need to be trimmed back, they may be too excessive, but I don’t want to totally eliminate the incentive to make film in Michigan” he said this morning, after he posted on his Facebook page that film makers could be eyeing a spot in his community, Grand Ledge, for a scene in the new Batman film:

“A film company is investigating Grand Ledge for filming a new Batman movie. They looked at Fitzgerald Park, The Grand Ledge water treatment plant, and the underground vault area.”

The new film, to be titled“The Dark Knight Rises,” and production is planned in several sites including Detroit. Producers shifted the production from Chicago in favor of Detroit, reported Ann Arbor.com.

Christian Bale stars as Batman in the action drama "The Dark Knight." A sequel may be feature scenes shot in Michigan.

“Film credits not only encourage young entrepreneurs in the film business, it encourages them to make their films in Michigan. Film companies provide jobs,” said Jones, a Republican whose district includes Saugatuck, home of a popular summer film festival.

But Jones emphasized that the possible filming in Grand Ledge had not stirred a change of heart, saying he has been consistent in his view that film tax credits need to be studied carefully.

“This has got nothing to do with the possible movie making in Grand Ledge,” he said.

Jones said, used correctly, the film tax credits can grow tourism, pointing to visitors who flock to Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel because of a cult-like draw created by the 1980 film “Somewhere in Time” starring Christopher Reeve.

Jones told the Michigan Messenger he was eager to see what Gov. Rick Snyder calls for in his budget, slated for release Feb. 17. Few budget details have leaked out, but the administration has telegraphed a plan to focus on various tax credits for savings.

During his campaign, Snyder suggested a skepticism about the value of the film tax credits, shepherded through the state House by then-state Rep. and now Congressman Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland.

Snyder has indicated that the film credits, like MEGA and other MEDC-provided incentives, will be under scrutiny, a position summed by Frank Beckmann in Michigan View: “He wants to use them sparingly and not like dropping candy from an airplane as we saw during the final year of the Granholm administration when 300-400 were issued.”

The current film tax credit system allows film companies to receive up to a 42-percent tax credit for filming in Michigan.

“It simply can’t work at that level,” he said in Grand Rapids during a town hall last year. “The government is not qualified to pick winners and losers. That’s a case of the government being short-sighted.”

If filmmakers decide on Grand Ledge locations, it will be the second major film shot there. Jones points out that a remake of “Red Dawn” was shot there and is awaiting release.